Find out what CRADLE PhD Pearl discovered at AHE 2026

In this post we hear from CRADLE PhD student Pearl Kang about her experiences at the 2026 Assessment in Higher Education Conference in Manchester, UK. Pearl’s research focuses on reviewing ways to help students develop evaluative judgement via pedagogical approaches. Pearl reported on her research findings at the conference and she outlines the key highlights of the conference.

Attending the International Assessment in Higher Education Conference 2026 in Manchester was a deeply inspiring and memorable experience. Across the two days, I was struck by the enthusiasm, generosity, and shared commitment to improving assessment practices in higher education. It was fascinating to see not only the diversity of assessment practices being discussed, but also the bigger questions behind them: what matters most in assessment and what values we want assessment to carry. One of the most special parts of the conference was meeting researchers whose work I had only known through papers, including Dr James Wood, Dr Edd Pitt and Professor Liesbeth Baartman. Hearing their ideas in person and getting a sense of the conversations behind their work made the experience feel much more real and thought-provoking.

Several sessions stood out to me. Professor Naomi Winstone, Professor Samuel Elkington, and Associate Professor Karen Gravett’s workshop on Black Box Assessment raised important questions about what values we want to enact through assessment and how we might make students’ learning journeys more visible.

I particularly appreciated the idea of creating more tangible ‘windows’ into students’ processes, rather than focusing only on final products.

^{Black Box Assessment workshop}

Trying out these ideas through a workshop made the session practical and engaging, and deeply relevant to current conversations about assessment in the age of AI.

Dr Jess Luo’s keynote, “GenAI Kills the Trust?”, was another highlight. She offered a thoughtful and timely reflection on the role of trust in assessment and generative AI. Rather than treating GenAI as a problem of misconduct or detection, her keynote invited us to consider how AI is reshaping relationships between students and teachers. It was especially meaningful to think about assessment not simply as a transactional process, but a relational practice shaped by trust, care and mutual responsibility.

Mrs Claire Hughes and Dr Suzanne Albary’s presentation on the programmatic assessment pilot at the University of Southampton was also encouraging. Their work showed the collaborative efforts of staff and students in welcoming change, while also recognising the challenges of implementing such a complex and still relatively unchartered approach. They also highlighted the importance of ongoing discussion with colleagues, students, and even parents, staying aligned around shared goals and remaining flexible when unexpected issues emerge.

It was also exciting to see CRADLE members contribute strongly to the conference discussions, including the presentations, mini-keynotes, and masterclass from Deakin Distinguished Professor David Boud, Professor Margaret Bearman, Dr Juuso Nieminen, and my fellow PhD candidate Türkan İstencioğlu.

^{Jess Luo, Juuso Nieminen, David Boud, Turkan Istencioglu, Pearl Kang, Margaret Bearman}

As AHE was my first conference presentation, having the support from CRADLE colleagues and friends, including Associate Professor Berit Lassesen and Dr Annika Lindberg, was incredibly reassuring and made the experience much more meaningful. Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend AHE 2026, to be part of the wider conversation around assessment in higher education, and to experience the generous, interactive, and collaborative side of research.

About Pearl Kang

Pearl is focused on students’ evaluative judgement processes, and her research explores challenges students encounter, particularly in the form of heuristics and biases that may potentially inhibit judgement practices. She gained her Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language and has experience in English instruction, translation and interpretation, political research, and media programming.

Pearl’s Publications